Job share Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: Regenerative agriculture for sustainable plantation ecosystems

种植园生态系统支撑着包括茶叶和咖啡在内的一系列商品的生产，并支持数百万小农的生计。然而，这些生态系统面临一系列挑战，包括土壤肥力下降和土壤侵蚀加剧，以及通过高施氮肥维持产量。在大多数产区，气候变化正在降低产量和作物质量，影响农民的生计。再生农业(RA)描述了一套旨在为农业生态系统带来有益成果的实践，重点是改善土壤健康和土壤固碳，减少农用化学品投入，增加生物多样性。这导致了一个更健康、更具气候适应性的生态系统。对于种植园作物，办法包括农林业和间作，减少土壤干扰，使用有机肥料和堆肥作为无机肥料的替代品。目前，由于对某些作物的特定技术研究有限，以及知识和资金障碍，采用程度较低。然而，许多技术在不同地区和不同作物之间有很大的相似之处，因此，关于好处和可能的权衡的证据有可能得到更广泛的应用。采用这种方法将有助于加快将RA纳入目前的管理做法。在这个项目中，我们将重点介绍RA在东非茶叶和咖啡生产中的应用。我们将主要在肯尼亚工作，因为茶叶和咖啡是关键的区域出口产品，支撑着100多万小农的生计，但生产容易受到气候变化的影响。从长远来看，在我们的合作伙伴和网络的帮助下，我们希望扩大我们的范围，将更多的作物和地区包括在内。为了实现我们的目标，该奖学金将在申请者(Nick Girkin博士和Kenisha Garnett博士)和克兰菲尔德大学已经建立的关系和网络的基础上，促进茶和咖啡生态系统中的研究人员、农业综合企业、非政府组织和小农户之间的知识交流。我们将采用跨学科的方法，带来我们在热带生态系统过程、RA和社会科学方面的不同背景、经验和集体专业知识。我们将综合NERC-REMIT关于RA对茶叶和咖啡生态系统的环境效益的科学，以及采用RA的社会和经济影响的证据，并将其与通过研究人员、农业综合企业和小农户之间分享想法、经验和专业知识而产生的新知识相结合。我们将在与小农的合作中采取联合生产的方法，以深入了解当前的可持续做法，并确定变革的障碍和交付模式。我们将利用这些证据来编写材料，以便与政策制定者(如各国议会可持续粮食和农业生态小组)、非政府组织(如雨林联盟)和企业(如Ekaterra)就RA的好处和激励采用的手段进行讨论。我们将与我们的合作伙伴和小农网络合作，共同开发种植园作物的RA工具包，该工具包可以为实践提供信息并促进采用。这一奖学金的一个关键影响将是将NERC-REMIT科学转化为提高茶叶和咖啡生产的可持续性，从长远来看，为小农带来环境、社会和经济利益。我们将在包括农业企业(例如Ekaterra)、非政府组织(例如雨林联盟)和区域研究机构(例如肯雅塔大学)在内的一系列合作伙伴的支持下实现我们的目标。我们预计，我们整个网络中的利益攸关方之间的知识交流和参与是可以持续的，并且该网络将在联谊会结束后自我维持，通过增加种植园生态系统的可持续性和气候适应能力来交付长期遗产。

Plantation ecosystems underpin the production of a range of commodities including tea and coffee and supports the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers. However, these ecosystems face a range of challenges, including declining soil fertility and increased soil erosion, and yields that are maintained through high nitrogen fertiliser applications. Across most production areas, climate change is reducing yields and crop quality, impacting farmer livelihoods. Regenerative agriculture (RA) describes a suite of practices designed to deliver beneficial outcomes for agroecosystems, with a focus on improving soil health and soil carbon sequestration, lower agrochemical inputs, and increasing biodiversity. This results in a healthier, more climate resilient ecosystem. For plantation crops, approaches include agroforestry and intercropping, reduced soil disturbance, and the use of organic fertilisers and composts as alternatives to inorganic fertilisers. At present, adoption is low due to limited research on specific techniques for certain crops, and knowledge and financial barriers. However, many techniques have significant similarities across regions and crops, and thus evidence of the benefits and possible trade-offs have the potential to be more widely applied. Adopting such an approach will help accelerate the incorporation of RA into current management practices. In this project, we will focus on the adoption of RA in tea and coffee production in East Africa. We will primarily work in Kenya, as tea and coffee are key regional exports and underpins the livelihoods of over a million smallholder farmers, but production is vulnerable to climate change. In the longer-term, and with the help of our partners and networks, we hope to expand our scope to include further crops and regions. To achieve our aim, this fellowship will facilitate knowledge exchange between researchers, agribusinesses, NGOs and smallholder farmers in tea and coffee ecosystems, building on the relationships and networks already established by the applicants (Dr Nick Girkin and Dr Kenisha Garnett) and Cranfield University. We will adopt a transdisciplinary approach, bringing our diverse background, experience and collective expertise in tropical ecosystem processes, RA, and the social sciences.We will synthesise NERC-remit science on RA's environmental benefits for tea and coffee ecosystems, with evidence of the social and economic impacts of adoption and combine this with new knowledge generated through the sharing of ideas, experience and expertise between researchers, agribusinesses and smallholder famers. We will adopt a co-production approach to our work with smallholders, to generate insights on current sustainable practices, and identify barriers to change, and delivery models. We will use this evidence to create materials to inform discussions with policymakers (e.g. the All-Parliamentary Group on Agroecology for Sustainable Food and Farming), NGOs (e.g. Rainforest Alliance) and businesses (e.g. Ekaterra) around the benefits of RA and means of incentivising adoption. Working collaboratively with our partners and a network of smallholder farmers, we will co-develop a RA toolkit for plantation crops, which can inform practice and promote adoption.A key impact of this fellowship will be the translation of NERC-remit science to improve the sustainability of tea and coffee production, bringing environmental, social and economic benefits to smallholders in the long-term. We will achieve our aim with support from a range of partners including agribusiness (e.g. Ekaterra), NGOs (e.g. Rainforest Alliance) and regional research institutions (e.g. Kenyatta University). We anticipate the knowledge exchange and engagement of stakeholders across our networks can be sustained and that the network will be self-maintaining after the fellowship, to deliver a long-term legacy by increasing the sustainability and climate resilience of plantation ecosystems.